Getting There
by PracticallyPerfectJulie
Summary: A prequel to 'A Future'. Includes everyone and tells the story that should have happened at the end of the series and afterwards. Enjoy! :)


_Sadly I own absolutely nothing. This is what would have happened if I did! Enjoy. :)_

Lovejoy had long since drifted off to sleep on the sofa. A bottle of beer was still clasped in his left hand, which was hanging off the side of the sofa. The remains of his fish and chip supper were abandoned on the coffee table. He was snoring loudly. The television chatted happily to itself, the only light in the room coming from it. It had gone dark since Lovejoy had nodded off. It wasn't especially late in the evening, however, thick dark storm clouds had filled the sky and rain was pouring down outside. The weather forecast had earlier predicted gale-force winds, thunder and lightning. The MET office had been advising people to stay indoors and beware of falling trees and the like. Not that Lovejoy was aware of any of it in his current state.

A loud banging on the door startled awake. He looked around confused for a moments. He looked out of the window and assumed either thunder or lightning had woken him. Lightning flashed across the sky. He groaned as the banging started again. 'The door' he realised. Annoyed he dragged himself from the sofa. He adjusted his clothing that had become tangled around him.

"All right!" he yelled, "I'm coming!" He stomped across the room, turned the key and yanked the door open, ready to yell at who he assumed was either Eric or Tinker. He froze at the sight that greeted him on his doorstep. She couldn't be real, was his first thought. It was some trick or an illusion. The illusion smiled at him.

"Can I come in?" she asked. "It's freezing and I'm a bit wet"

"Janey?" he breathed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you, I didn't know where else to come" she explained. He stepped back to allow her through the door. Her clothes were clinging to her body and her hair was drenched. She shivered as she entered the warm cottage.

"Sorry, you've surprised me. I didn't expect to find you there" Lovejoy apologised. He let her in and closed the door behind her. He took a deep breath to calm himself, before looking back at her.

"Bloody hell, Janey! You're soaking!" he rushed past her. "Let me get you a towel and something dry". He disappeared through a door at the other side of the room and hurried back a second later with a large blue towel. He wrapped it round her shoulders and rubbed her arms and back gently to get the worst of the water off. "What happened?" he asked as she stood passively before him as he dried her. She bit her lip and tears filed her eyes. "Oh Janey" he whispered and pulled her into his arms. She began to cry more heavily into his shoulder, her arms slipping round him. He held her to him, gently rubbing her back and whispering into her hair. He carefully led her towards the sofa. She didn't loosen her grip on him as they sat down, so he pulled her into his side and rocked her gently. "I've got you, love. It's ok" he murmured unto her hair. She held tightly onto him as he whispered to her. "It's ok, Love. It's ok" he continued.

"It's not" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"What's not, Love?" he asked, tucking his fingers under her chin and living her gaze to meet his. He stroked her cheek and pressed a gentle kiss to her nose. "Tell me who I need to go and beat up" he teased. She smiled weakly.

"I left Alan" she explained.

"Your director?" Lovejoy asked.

"Producer, yes" she corrected. "I'd been out with a friend, but she wasn't feeling well so I came home early. Obviously he wasn't expecting me for a while, he was going at some woman on his desk in the office" she sobbed again.

"Bastard!" Lovejoy hissed. "He doesn't deserve you, Janey" he said, giving her a loving squeeze.

"What's wrong with me, Lovejoy?" she asked, quietly. Lovejoy looked at her, shocked.

"What do you mean, what's wrong with you?" he asked, confused.

"Well clearly there is something. I wasn't good enough for Alex, clearly Alan prefers someone else. The common denominator is me…" she said, looking forlorn.

"No it's not Jane. Please don't ever think that. You are perfect and wonderful and if they are stupid enough not to see it then it's the other way around. They weren't good enough for you" he tried to soothe her.

"Then how come Alan is back there on his desk with her and Alex has probably had half the women in Hong Kong and I'm still alone?" she asked desperately.

"You're not on your own" he tried to reassure her, but she looked at him angrily.

"Well clearly I'm impossible to love exclusively, or love at all!" she shouted, trying to pull away from him. He held tight onto her.

"No you're not!" he sighed, kissing her cheeks as she pressed herself back against him. Tears tumbling down her face. He held onto her for a while, gently rocking her and kissing her hair.

"I don't know what to do" she sdmitted.

"You don't have to do anything. You can stay right here for as long as you need, but you don't need to do anything at all if you don't want to" he reassured her.

"I should have married you" she said eventually, with a smile.

"The offer's always there, Janey" he said.

"No, I don't think I want to be a pity wife either" she said, leaning back to look at him. She couldn't quite make out the expression that had appeared on his face.

"You know that wouldn't be the case" he said. She smiled.

"No, I suppose not" she said quietly. He leant back against the arm of the sofa, pulling Jane to lay on top of him. He kissed her gently on the lips as she rested above him. She folded her arms on his chest and smiled down at him. His arms wrapped round her waist. He smiled at her.

"Hello" she said softly.

"You want to stay here for a bit?" he asked. She nodded. "Forever?" he asked. She nodded again. He laughed. "Ok" he said. She slid her arms round his neck and rested her head on his shoulder and kissed the side of his jaw.

"Thank you" she said softly, nuzzling into him.

"Anytime, you know that" he said. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Alan?" she said. Lovejoy nodded. "I don't know what to say. I got home and they were there. I called him a bastard and threw my engagement ring at the back of his head. He barely even turned around. He was still inside her for God's sake! I grabbed my keys and tried to storm out" she stopped her explanation and gulped.

"Tried?" he prompted gently.

"He grabbed me on the stairs. I don't really think he meant to hurt me or anything. I lost my balance and fell. I'll have some nasty bruises in the morning" she explained.

"I'll look after those" he said softly.

"I just ran. He wouldn't have done anything to really hurt me, I don't think anyway. I just couldn't bear to be there any longer. I didn't know where else to come. I just ended up here. I didn't realise how much it was raining until I walked up the drive. Is it ok that I came here?"She asked, suddenly unsure.

"Yes. You're always welcome here Janey, you know that" he said. "I'm glad you came". She smiled at him. She shivered. "Cold?" she nodded. "Come on then. Let's get you a hot shower and some warm clothes. I might even cook you some dinner" she laughed.

The eventually, slightly awkwardly managed to get to their feet. Lovejoy directed her to the bathroom, laid out spare clothes for her and waited while she changed into his dressing gown to take her wet clothes to wash and dry.

"Thanks, Lovejoy" she said, at the bathroom door. He smiled.

"You enjoy your shower. Are scrambled eggs ok?" he asked. She nodded. "All right. I'll sort those"

Jane smiled as she closed the door. She couldn't quite make sense of what had happened in the last few hours. She'd been in the middle of London, having dinner at a fancy restaurant, with tickets to a play afterwards. Then there had been that awful image of Alan and Lucy. Then screaming and yelling and arguing and ring throwing and falling and storming out. Jane was astounded she had made it safely to Cambridgeshire in her state. She was fortunate it had been late and stormy and the roads were quiet. She stepped under the hot water and allowed its' heat to spread through her. She hadn't quite realised how cold she was. She ran her hands over her sides and found small bruises already forming where Alan had grabbed her. She didn't need to tell Lovejoy quite how scared she had been. She suspected that perhaps he already knew. She hadn't seen Alan as a violent person. He could certainly get angry, but she'd never imagined he would ever hurt her. She shivered and turned the temperature of the water up a little. She didn't ever want to go back there.

In contrast, being here with Lovejoy, she felt like she'd come home. It both reassured and unnerved her slightly. She knew Lovejoy meant more to her than just a friend, but did that mean she wanted more from their relationship? Did that mean she loved him? She thought to herself. She closed her eyes and let the water run over her head. She had butterflies in her stomach. I love him. She thought. She didn't know what to do with this piece of information now she had it. She'd always known Lovejoy meant something more to her, but the revelation that she did actually love him surprised her somewhat. She had in the past hoped for something more with him. They had come close to sleeping together a couple of times, but she could comprehend how she hadn't thought she loved him before.

"Shit!" She said to herself, reaching for the shampoo. She knew she didn't want to go back to Alan, but equally she wasn't sure now was the moment to start a new relationship.

Meanwhile, Lovejoy laid a clean shirt and jogging bottoms out on the bed.

He also found a pair of shorts, he wasn't sure where her underwear was or whether she'd want something. He collected her clothes up and wandered back towards the kitchen. He would have to wait until she got out of the shower to do the eggs so he untangled her clothes and put them all in the washing machine. The jeans, blue jumper and vest were all dark enough that he hoped they'd be ok in the same load. He checked the washing instructions on the jumper before putting them all on. He went back to the living room and tidied away his dinner and empty beer bottle.

He leant against the side in the kitchen and dropped his face into his hands. He couldn't believe she was under his roof again. He wouldn't admit to anyone, except perhaps Jane herself, quite how much he had missed her. He had long since realised that he loved her. He had had plenty of girlfriends and flings. He would have married Charlotte had he not been otherwise detained, but it was Jane that he really loved. What worried him was how long he'd be able to keep it to himself with her so close and effectively unattached. He didn't want to scare her or force her into a relationship she didn't want or wasn't ready for. Equally he felt like this might be his chance to tell her how he felt. He would need to choose his moment wisely.

He gathered eggs and bread for her scrambled eggs and found a pan, before sitting down at the table in the kitchen. He listened as she turned off the shower and pottered about in the bedroom.

He couldn't help but smile when she appeared in the doorway in his clothes, he towel dried hair sitting round her shoulders.

"I borrowed your jumper and socks. I hope you don't mind. I was still cold" she said.

"Of course I don't" he said. "Still want eggs?"

"Mmhmm" she said nodding her head. He got up, cracking the eggs into a jug with some milk. She gathered the bread and headed for the toaster. "You having some?" She asked.

"Please." He replied as he turned on the hob. He put the pan over the gas ring and poured the liquid in. Jane pressed the toast down into the toaster and crossed the room to him. She stood beside him and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you" she said, watching as he moved the wooden spatula through the slowly cooking egg. They moved around the kitchen in a silent synchrony, preparing their food as if they did it everyday. It may have been a while since they had seen each other, or spent any real time together, but they still knew each other.

Eventually they found themselves sat at the small wooden table, side by side, with their plates and two hot mugs of tea in front of them.

"This is good" Jane noted as she took her second bite.

"Don't sound quite so surprised" Lovejoy teased. She laughed.

"I don't remember you cooking that much. You always did opt for dinner out or a takeaway over cooking" she explained.

"Easier" he said through a mouthful. "It's much easier to be bothered to cook when you have a beautiful lady to cook for".

"Stop flirting with me Lovejoy, please, just for a minute" she sighed, taking another mouthful.

"Sorry, I don't know what's got into me" he said, continuing to eat.

"Overwhelmed by the sight of me?" she teased.

"If I can't, you can't" he threw back, nudging her arm with his elbow so that her scrambled egg fell off her fork.

"More difficult than I had anticipated" she quipped back. He caught her eye and they both grinned.

They chatted quietly as they washed the pots and tided away they plates. Jane stifled a yawn as she put the last of the plates back in the cupboard.

"Come on" Lovejoy said. "Let's get you tucked up in bed". Lovejoy gestured for Jane to head back towards his bedroom.

"Oh yes" Jane teased. "And will you be joining me?" Lovejoy laughed, nudging her into the hall wall.

"I'll be fine with the sofa, as usual thanks" he said.

An hour later however, Lovejoy woke on the sofa, a warm body beside him and someone's fingers running softly through his hair. He smiled, slowly opening his eyes.

"Yes, my lady" he murmured, reaching his hands round her middle to pull her to him. He opened his eyes. "Janey, Love. You're shaking!" He lifted the blanket off him and wrapped it round her, sitting up.

"I'm not cold" she said, her voice trembling. He pulled her to him. She winced and pulled her arm away from him a little.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" he asked. She shook her head. "Did he hurt you?" he said, fire filling his eyes. She reluctantly nodded. "Can I kill him?" he asked.

"No, I need you here" she said quietly, tears tumbling down her cheeks. "Come back to bed with me?" she asked. "I don't want to be on my own anymore" she said simply.

In bed Jane rested her head against Lovejoy's shoulder, her hand resting lower on his t-shirted belly. His left arm was round her shoulder, his right on her hip. He cradled her to him. Her mind was whirring, she didn't intend to tell Lovejoy that Alan had hurt her. It was only the once and he hadn't meant it. 'You're still defending him' a stern voice in her head snapped. She didn't know why she felt loyal to him. She had obviously loved him. She wouldn't have invested so much in their relationship if she hadn't loved him, however, she equally should have changed her feelings after he had behaved in the way he had. But it wasn't that easy to stop loving someone. She should have known that from Alexander.


End file.
